The intention of this Thread is to explain how to convert Evo powered chops to kickstart. Most of the information in this thread I have learned first hand and it cost me ample time and money. Hopefully this will help reduce some of the unnecessary spending and hassle for others interested in doing this conversion ,and pool together all the info necessary to do this conversion instead of the constant forum diving. This thread applies to all Evo's, Sportys and Big Twins alike. The ignition aspect of it applies to all Cone Shovels and most but not all Ironheads as well. To do this conversion you need to accomplish two things. First install a kickstart mechanism ,and second install kickstart friendly ignition.
First we will talk about the kickstart mechanism. First thing you will have to decide on is weather or not you are going to keep the 5 speed or switch over to a 4 speed, if you have a Big Twin Evo. Sporty's obviously will retain the stock transmission. The 4 speed conversion can actually be cheaper than tricking out a 5 speed to kickstart.
If you choose the 4 speed option most of them already have a kicker on them and you open up a whole new world of options if you choose to go to an open primary down the road. The conversion is far from simple as you will need to fab up new trans mounts and accommodate the different style clutch able and shifter linkages. There are many threads dedicated to this topic so I will not dive into too much as I have not dealt with it first hand. Just know that mounting a transmission requires ample knowledge of drivetrain alignment and obviously your welds better be up to the task. Also as most of already know 4 speeds did come with there share of problems, particularly oil leaks where as the 5 speed is usually considered to be a bit more robust and leak free. When its all said and done they both have a 1:1 gear ratio in top gear so both transmissions will ride very similarly.
Now the 5 speed does have a few aftermarket kicker mechanisms available for it. Revtech, Custom Krome, Baker, and several other forigen companies to name a few. Rivera Primo used to offer them but have since decided to redesign there product and are currently unavailable (there are still many units available that are just old stock). I would HIGHLY recommend avoiding all of these except for Baker's if you intend to go kick only. Baker's is by far the most robust design, will last for a very long time, and is very user serviceable. If you are only looking to use the kicker as a back up the foreign units should suffice. Installing these mechanisms can be complicated especially the Baker unit. I would not recommend attempting it without a factory service manual as you will have to pull the gear set out completely (Baker sends great instructions with the unit but it does refer you to the factory service manual quite a bit). This also requires a special bearing puller from Harley that is available for purchase online. All of the other units do not require pulling the gear set, so the special bearing puller is not needed and is much easier to install.
For the Evo sporty crowd it's pretty strait forward. There is only one company I am aware of that manufactures a kicker mechanism for you and that is Led Sleds. I have never seen or installed this unit but I'm sure it requires the disassembly of the transmission and is a complex processes.
So in summation if you find a great deal on a 4 speed and can fabricate transmission mounts yourself go that route as that transmission was designed to kickstart and can handle that abuse no problem. If you decide to keep the 5 speed and are going kick only spend the money and buy the best unit available ,but don't take my word for it please do product research before purchasing. If the kickstart is merely for looks/backup you can skimp here and buy a cheaper unit.
KICKING THAT EVO OVER
First we will talk about the kickstart mechanism. First thing you will have to decide on is weather or not you are going to keep the 5 speed or switch over to a 4 speed, if you have a Big Twin Evo. Sporty's obviously will retain the stock transmission. The 4 speed conversion can actually be cheaper than tricking out a 5 speed to kickstart.
If you choose the 4 speed option most of them already have a kicker on them and you open up a whole new world of options if you choose to go to an open primary down the road. The conversion is far from simple as you will need to fab up new trans mounts and accommodate the different style clutch able and shifter linkages. There are many threads dedicated to this topic so I will not dive into too much as I have not dealt with it first hand. Just know that mounting a transmission requires ample knowledge of drivetrain alignment and obviously your welds better be up to the task. Also as most of already know 4 speeds did come with there share of problems, particularly oil leaks where as the 5 speed is usually considered to be a bit more robust and leak free. When its all said and done they both have a 1:1 gear ratio in top gear so both transmissions will ride very similarly.
Now the 5 speed does have a few aftermarket kicker mechanisms available for it. Revtech, Custom Krome, Baker, and several other forigen companies to name a few. Rivera Primo used to offer them but have since decided to redesign there product and are currently unavailable (there are still many units available that are just old stock). I would HIGHLY recommend avoiding all of these except for Baker's if you intend to go kick only. Baker's is by far the most robust design, will last for a very long time, and is very user serviceable. If you are only looking to use the kicker as a back up the foreign units should suffice. Installing these mechanisms can be complicated especially the Baker unit. I would not recommend attempting it without a factory service manual as you will have to pull the gear set out completely (Baker sends great instructions with the unit but it does refer you to the factory service manual quite a bit). This also requires a special bearing puller from Harley that is available for purchase online. All of the other units do not require pulling the gear set, so the special bearing puller is not needed and is much easier to install.
For the Evo sporty crowd it's pretty strait forward. There is only one company I am aware of that manufactures a kicker mechanism for you and that is Led Sleds. I have never seen or installed this unit but I'm sure it requires the disassembly of the transmission and is a complex processes.
So in summation if you find a great deal on a 4 speed and can fabricate transmission mounts yourself go that route as that transmission was designed to kickstart and can handle that abuse no problem. If you decide to keep the 5 speed and are going kick only spend the money and buy the best unit available ,but don't take my word for it please do product research before purchasing. If the kickstart is merely for looks/backup you can skimp here and buy a cheaper unit.
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